The rulers of which dynasty started the practice of granting tax-free villages to Brahmanas and Buddhist Monks?
(A) Satavahanas
(B) Mauryas
(C) Guptas
(D) Cholas
Answer: (A) Land grants formed an important feature of the Satavahana rural administration. Inscriptions show that the Satavahanas started the practice of granting fiscal and administrative immunities to Brahmins and Buddhist monks. Earlier, the grants to individuals were temporary but later grants to religious beneficiaries were permanent. Perhaps the earliest epigraphic grant of land is found in the Nanaghat Cave Inscription of Tanganyika, who bestowed villages (grama) on priests for officiating at Vedic sacrifices, but it does not speak of any concessions in this context. These appear first in grants made by Gautamiputra Satakarni in the first quarter of the second century A.D.
